To The Movies: Fellowship of the Rings

When a storyline from a book is turned into a movie, the movie becomes its own text. The basic storyline may be the same, but when changes are made in order to fit the movie within a time limit or to highlight an element or theme that the people involved in the movie feels is important—they make the story their own. I will focus these features on movies made based on books I have read—I want to look beyond whether I think the movie is better or worse than the book. I want to appreciate and review the movie as a companion to the book.

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Genre: Action & Adventure, Fantasy
Actors: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, and Orlando Bloom
Director: Peter Jackson
Scriptwriter: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson
Date DVD Released: August 6, 2002
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Movie Info: IMDB
Order Online: Amazon.com
Rating: 4 Stars
Borrowed the movie from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
Even though I loved the entire trilogy--I have found that I appreciated this one so much more after I have read the book.  The details came together so much clearer after having exposure to the richness of the details, the back stories, and the language of the book. 

Review:
I still remember going to the movie theater the week this movie came out.  I sat there staring up at the screen in amazement at the beautiful scenes, the enchanting characters, and the compelling storyline coming to life before my eyes.  And then I saw Orlando Bloom--with blonde hair and elf ears--and I was in for the whole series.

But now that I have read the book, I can definitely see what all the fuss was about when these movies were released.  The book, the back stories, the magic make the effects of the movie stronger and more compelling.  I just wish it was in the theaters now--so I could have appreciate the big screen effects even more.

There are some major elements from the book that are omitted from the movie--the Tom Bombadil storyline jumps out at me in particular.  But since that was the part of the book I really struggled with every time I have tried to read it, I did not find the omission took away from the experience for me.  But I have heard others criticize that this omission was substantial in their eyes.  I also do not remember Arwen playing nearly as large a role in the book, but I get the impression from things I have read that she does play a larger role in the later books.  So I was not as concerned to see her increased role in this movie.

The movie did end in a different place than the book ended, which may have stood out for me more because I have only read The Fellowship of the Ring. But I strongly suspect that this movie's ending overlaps with the beginning of the next book.  And I think I like the choice because I feel like it ties the two movies together very nicely.  Well maybe nicely is not the right word--because what happens is really horrible (but I will not spoil it for all of you who have not read the book or seen the move yet).

Is there anyone who has not read the book or seen the movie yet?  Am I the last person to read this book?

Recommendations:
I cannot wait to read the next book so I can watch the next movie with new eyes:

The Book Addict Reviews: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Genre: Young Adult, Middle School, Fantasy & Magic, Action & Adventure, Friendship
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 3 stars
Borrowed this book from the library.

In A Nutshell:
This book brought Greek Mythology to the 21st century and led me to better appreciate some of the classics I had read years ago.  I want to read more of these books--but also more of the classics that serve as the foundation for this book. 

Review:
I still remember study Greek Mythology in school.  I loved reading about the gods, goddesses, heros, and all of the stories that explained natural phenomenons.  Rick Riordan brought all of that to life for me again in The Lightning Thief, where Greek mythology comes to the 21st century.

Percy Jackson has been in and out of many boarding schools for as long as he can remember.  Each time he has trouble with the course work (his dyslexia and ADHD making it hard for him to study the material) and trouble with his classmates (particularly the ones that try to bully him).  This time he is hoping he can stay home with his mom, even if staying home means living with smelly Gabe.

Fate however has other plans.  Instead of staying at home with his mother, he ends up at a summer camp with people he seems to have in common with than any other group he has ever been a part of.  But he is also drawn into a world he thought did not exist outside of Ancient Greece--a world where the Greek gods and goddess are using their children and other mortals to sort out their disputes.

In some ways I felt like Rick Riordan had taken parts of classics that I loved and even some that I did not quite "get" when I read them and made them easily accessible.  The strongest example for me was when Percy and his friends were drawn into the magical casino where they lost track of time.  When I read the Odyssey in high school, I did not feel for Odysseus when he ended up not returning home for many years.  I felt like he made poor choices--he could have come home on time if he had wanted to or if not on time at least much earlier than he did.  But in The Lightning Thief, I got how Percy and his friends got sucked in.  It made me want to re-read the Odyssey--maybe Odysseus deserves the benefit of the doubt?

Recommendations:
I cannot wait to read the next book in the series!  And then in the following series!









I also want to read more of the classics in: